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Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair to steer '90210' for two more years

February 26, 2009 | 10:00
pm

On the heels of Tuesday’s renewal news, “90210” studio, CBS Paramount, has signed show runner Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair to a new two-year contract, keeping the “Gilmore Girls” alumna at the helm of one of The CW's signature dramas.

Sinclair is the third shepherd of the updated of version of the iconic teen series –- she took over in September -– and has been credited with helping the new “90210” find its narrative voice, also bringing aboard former “Gilmore” writers Jennie Snyder and Gayle Abrams. (Executive producers Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah will not continue with the series.)

“I got to a point, where I felt like I was renting this house, this show, that I felt weird making changes to,” Sinclair said. “Then I started enjoying myself and began to see the potential in the characters and in the story lines we were coming up with … and then I knew I had to buy it."

When the series returns Tuesday, March 31, in its new 9 p.m. time slot –- out of the “American Idol” path of destruction -- Sinclair said fans can expect an amped-up “90210.” She teases: “There’s some crazy stuff in it. We’ll see where Naomi and Liam are going, and Silver’s crisis hits a whole new level in a most unexpected way.

“I don’t usually check the Internet for reactions, but I definitely will be checking after this episode.”

The show will also see familiar faces to the zip code: In April, Tori Spelling makes her comeback as Donna Martin and, behind-the-scenes, Jason Priestley returns to direct an episode.

Still on her agenda: Putting the spotlight on Beverly Hills (much in the same way “Gossip Girl” does on Manhattan's Upper East Side.) “Beverly Hills is one of the most extraordinary places on Earth, so strange and peculiar. You could see a woman from behind and think she’s 18 and she turns around she’s actually 80,” Sinclair said. “It’s like being in some wild animal park, and I feel like we have yet to scratch the surface of that.”